BIKETOWN is celebrating Women’s History Month in March with a stunning new bike wrap, hitting Portland’s streets today.
The Women’s History Month bike features a vibrant palette of blues and greens with upward-facing arrows, encouraging women to proudly stand out while moving forward.
There’s also a “WHM” on the bike’s basket and frame to represent bringing balance to the world.
“Bicycles hold a key role in the history of women’s liberation: bikes enabled independent transportation, helped women shed restrictive clothing, and were a flagship symbol of the suffragette movement.” Said City of Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly.
“I can think of no better way to kick off Women’s History Month than this BIKETOWN celebration of women who bike, women who create, and women-owned businesses.”
The design and themes were inspired by the 2019 themes for Women’s History Month (Visionary Women) and International Women’s Day (#BalanceForBetter), and created by Women of Nike & Friends Employee Network members Keyana Thompson-Shaw, Footwear Color Designer for Jordan Brand, and Brianna Warren, Program Education and Communications Manager for Nike’s Information Governance team.
“As women, it’s important to lift up each other so that we all succeed. I hope these bikes help amplify that message during this year’s Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.
When women are united, as Brianna and I were on this collaboration, there’s nothing we can’t do,” said Thompson-Shaw.
Added Warren, “Keyana and I wanted these bikes to stand out and shine, because we believe women should as well—not just during Women’s History Month, but every day, in both our personal and professional lives.“
The Women’s History Month bike wrap is the second design in the new BIKETOWN Culture Collection, which debuted in February with the Black History Month bike wrap and will continue through 2019.
The Culture Collection wraps celebrate some of the communities and cultures that make up the fabric of Portland.
Women of Nike & Friends, part of Nike’s Employee Networks that collectively are called NikeUNITED, led the design process for the BIKETOWN Women’s History Month wrap.
Future Culture Collection designs will be created in collaboration with other Nike Employee Networks.
Five BIKETOWN Women’s History Month bikes will be available in Portland beginning today, where they will join the distinctive orange BIKETOWN bikes and the other specialty bike wraps, including the Black History Month Collection (February 2019), the BIKETOWN Community Design Challenge Collection (spring/summer 2018), the BETRUE Collection (June 2017 and 2018), and the Sneaker Collection (July 2016).
“The Women’s History Month bike wrap design creates an opportunity for us to celebrate women and their incredible contributions of creativity, community and innovation in Portland and beyond,” said Karol Collymore, Nike’s Senior Manager of Oregon Community Impact. “It reminds us that as women, we’re at our best when we’re elevating both ourselves and the women around us.”
A companion book for BIKETOWN’s celebration of Women’s History Month will include images of the Women’s History Month bike wrap, a statement by the designers, plus a code for a free BIKETOWN ride.
Created by Scout Books, a woman-owned business based in Portland, it will be available for free at WILDFANG’s two Portland stores.
NIKE, Inc. is the title sponsor for BIKETOWN, the City of Portland bike share system that began in July 2016. As a longtime partner with the City of Portland, BIKETOWN highlights the company’s commitment to make Portland an even more physically active, vibrant and innovative city.